Throughout the specification, when referring to an endovascular prosthesis, the terms “proximal” and “proximally” shall denote a position, direction, or orientation that is generally toward, or in the direction of, a patient's heart. The terms “distal” and “distally” shall denote a position, direction, or orientation that is generally opposite “proximal” or “proximally,” or in a direction away from the heart.
Conversely, when referring to any portion of a device or system for delivering an endovascular prosthesis, the terms “proximal” and “proximally” shall denote a position, direction, or orientation that is generally toward, or in the direction of, the operator of the device or system. The terms “distal” and “distally” shall denote a position, direction, or orientation that is generally opposite “proximal” or “proximally,” or in a direction toward, or in the direction of, the patient.
Various techniques have been proposed for delivering and deploying an endoluminal prosthesis in a patient from a remote location. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,235, entitled “Expandable Transluminal Graft Prosthesis for Repair of Aneurysm,” discloses containing a prosthesis (e.g, a stent graft for treating aortic aneurysms) within a distal portion of an outer sheath. The outer sheath is used to introduce the prosthesis into a patient's vasculature from a remote location in the patient's body (e.g., the patient's arms or legs), and to carry the prosthesis through the vasculature to the area to be treated. When the prosthesis is positioned at a desired site, the outer sheath may then be withdrawn to release the prosthesis. These and other features disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,235 could be used with the present invention, and the disclosure of this patent is herewith incorporated in its entirety into this specification.
PCT Patent Publication No. WO 98/53761, entitled “A Prosthesis And A Method And Means Of Deploying A Prosthesis,” discloses devices for introducing endoluminal prostheses within an external sleeve. The publication discloses proximal and distal attachment devices that may be attached to the proximal and/or distal ends of the prosthesis, respectively. The attachment devices enable selective releasing of the proximal and distal ends of the prosthesis. These and other features disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO 98/53761 could be used with the present invention, and the disclosure of this publication is herewith incorporated in its entirety into this specification.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,666,219, entitled “Prosthesis Deployment System Retention Device,” also discloses devices for introducing endoluminal prostheses. FIG. 1 of the present application depicts an introducer 1 in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 7,666,219. The introducer 1 includes a prosthesis 2 retained in a compressed condition by a sheath 3, which extends proximally to handle 4. Proximal and distal retention devices retain proximal and distal portions of the prosthesis, respectively. The proximal retention device includes a trigger wire 9 coupled to a proximal portion 5 of the prosthesis and extending proximally from the prosthesis to trigger wire release mechanism 6. The distal retention device includes a trigger wire (not shown) coupled to a distal portion 7 of the prosthesis and extending proximally from the prosthesis to trigger wire release mechanism 8. The prosthesis 2 is released from the sheath 3 by pulling proximally on the sheath 3 via handle 4 to uncover the prosthesis 2. The trigger wires are released from the proximal and distal portions of the prosthesis 2 by removing the proximal and distal release mechanisms 6, 8, respectively. These and other features disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,666,219 could be used with the present invention and the disclosure of this patent is herewith incorporated in its entirety into this specification.
Additional examples of catheter delivery systems utilizing wire release mechanisms are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,524,335, 6,939,370, 7,335,224, 7,435,253, 7,537,606, 7,611,529, 7,651,519, 7,722,657, 7,803,177, 8,012,193, 8,394,135, 8,506,616, 8,709,060, 8,845,708, and 8,968,380, and in U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2004/0230287 A1, 2007/0043425 A1, 2008/0294234 A1, and 2014/0277330 A1. The disclosure of each of these references is herewith incorporated in its entirety into this specification.
In the known trigger wire release systems, the trigger wires are manually removed from the prosthesis, independently of the sheath and in multiple steps. In order to release the prosthesis depicted in FIG. 1, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,666,219 describes a process including: 1) withdrawing sheath 3 to uncover a portion of the prosthesis; 2) removing the proximal trigger wire release mechanism 6 to release the proximal trigger wire from the prosthesis; 3) withdrawing the sheath 3 to further uncover the prosthesis; and 4) removing the distal wire release mechanism 8 to release the distal trigger wire from the prosthesis. Although such systems are suitable for their intended use, there is room for improvement. There is a need in the art for delivery and deployment systems with simple, intuitive to use wire retention and release mechanisms.